Cari Simson: Room #307

Our Plastic Planet - Make art not trash

Cari Simson is an artist and environmental consultant who focuses on clean water and connecting people with their local environments. She's taught at Antioch University Seattle and founded the award-winning Dirt Corps program. In past incarnations she worked at a groundbreaking all-ages venue (Old Firehouse Teen Center), formed an all-girl punk band (Vandemonium), and co-founded the inimitable Tablet Newspaper. She loves thrifting, watercolor painting, paddle-boarding, hiking and looking for agates on the beach. Her macramé skills may be the result of her fishing ancestors who chased cod across the North Atlantic with their great knotted nets. Learn more about her consulting work at www.urbansystemsdesign.com.

Macrame: Check out photos of some of my macramé available for sale below, and commissions welcomed!
I will be teaching basic Macramé plant holders and wall-hangings in 2023 - stay tuned!

As a response to the global problem of ocean plastics and marine debris, 2022's "Our Plastic Planet" macramé installation included repurposed, salvaged, and upcycled materials from our local waterbodies, including Seattle’s Elliott Bay and Duwamish River. Each year millions of tons of plastic trash flows into the world’s oceans. Some of that waste endangers wildlife and eventually becomes microplastics that enter the food chain and can harm human health.
“Our Plastic Planet” encouraged people to come face-to-face with the plastic waste from everyday life in a playful way that inspires action. "Our Plastic Planet" sculpture was at the opening for Our Blue Planet at SAM in April, and at the Summer of SAM (Seattle Art Museum) events at Olympic Sculpture Park on July 16th, 23rd and 30th, and Bellingham SeaFeast in September. "Our Plastic Planet" was also a featured auction item in the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance "Salute to the Sound" event.

Our Plastic Planet incorporates items collected at the Duwamish "River Booty" garbage pickup events. Over 60 volunteers removed an estimated 3,500 pounds of debris from the Duwamish River over the two events. People on paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, and power boats formed teams to visit the shorelines from South Park to Georgetown and downriver to Kellogg Island. The piece also utilizes materials sources from Net Your Problem into the sculpture; their mission is to engage a variety of stakeholders and partners to create an economically viable pathway to recycle end of life fishing gear. Find out more: www.netyourproblem.com

Stay tuned for more river cleanup events coming in 2023, plus a river guide training program, free tours and more!

Balsamifera: I am also wild-crafting healing salves, Oxymels, and other skin care products for sale at Equinox open houses and by appointment. See flier below.